THE BETTER LIFE, LIVED UNDER THE SON

“A Hedonist’s Dream”
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Bob Bonner
November 29, 1998

Imagine for a moment that you are a young, very healthy person, in whom has been ingrained strong morals. You are intelligent and fairly wise. One day as you are walking down Sixth St., you find an unused lottery ticket on the sidewalk. You think, “Finders keepers,” and decide to try out your luck and you rub off the appropriate boxes. With your numbers exposed, you get a newspaper to see if you have won anything. Lo and behold, you discover that you have just won the mega jackpot of 100 million dollars, after taxes!!

No longer do you have to work long, hard, hours. No longer do you have worries about unpaid bills. No longer do you have people telling you what to do. You are free to travel or do anything with your time and life that you want. If you choose, you have enough time, health, freedom and wealth to experiment--like King Solomon did--with pleasure. You have no obstacles standing in your way to prevent you from discovering what brings true happiness, pleasure and meaning to life. You can travel, play all of the golf courses of the world, do whatever tickles your fancy. You have just stepped into a hedonist’s greatest fantasy.

If this happened to you, what would you do with the rest of your life? More importantly, why would you do what you plan to do?  Would you sit back and live a life of ease? Would you quit your job? Would you start giving away your money as fast as you could to some good cause? Would you venture out in search of happiness? How would you begin to spend the rest of your days?  What avenues would you walk down in order to discover that which brings you true meaning and happiness? Where would you turn to discover the pleasure that brings with it lasting meaning and enjoyment?

Think about that for a moment. Where would you start? That’s a rather overwhelming scenario, isn’t it? But if you had all of those advantages, health, wealth, no time commitments, no one to answer to, no undelegatable responsibilities, what would you do with your life?                        

It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?  We are either very young and virile but too broke and tied down to engage in such a search for happiness and meaning; or we are too old, have too many responsibilities or are facing so many health problems that we couldn’t venture out on such a quest even if money was no object. So, most of us have never bothered to even think or dream about such a lifelong search. 

Instead, many of us spend our days thinking or saying things like, “Boy, I wish I had a little more money and time so that I could quit my job and sail around the world, then I would really be happy.” Or we think, “Boy, I wish I wasn’t so old and vulnerable, or I would travel through Europe to visit all the historic museums and places of interest.” Or, “If I had the time and the money, I’d play all of the historic golf courses, or fish all the wildest streams or hunt for the most exotic animals this world has to offer.” Or, “If I wasn’t so old, and I had all that money, I would go for wine, women and song. That would really be exciting.”

No one I know personally has that kind of fortune matched with health and freedom to take on such a search for happiness and adventure. Yet, wouldn’t it be great to find someone who has traveled down all of the roads of life who proclaims that they lead to pleasure and happiness? Then we could turn to him or her and discover which of these pleasure-filled roads were dead ends and which one was the road to a meaningful life.

Well, we have just such a person here before us, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon had the health, wealth, time, and the freedom to research every imaginable road in life that would lead to pleasure and happiness. And if we were smart, we would ask him, “What did you learn?” and then choose to invest our lives in what he said was the true road to experiencing a meaningful life.

Ecclesiastes is a journal of a wealthy, healthy and wise young man’s search for purpose and meaning. In the segment of his journal that we want to look at this morning, 2:1-11, we see Solomon’s experimentation with the subject of pleasure to see if there is any form of pleasure that would bring lasting meaning to one’s life. Remember the key phrase, “under the sun” or “under heaven” which are mentioned in verses 3 and 11 of this section. These two phrases throughout this book define the boundaries of Solomon’s research into life. Basically, the boundaries are simple. “Under the sun” and “under heaven” refer to looking at all of life from a secular world’s perspective. It is an investigation of life that in the process of its research ignores God.

This journal represents Solomon’s search for meaning and happiness in life without God. So far, we have seen in the first chapter that Solomon traveled the roads of education and scientific exploration only to discover that they left him empty and frustrated. There just had to be more to life than those dead ends. So, in our segment of Scripture for this morning Solomon tries another fork in the road of life that says it leads to meaningful satisfaction. That’s the highway marked “eros” or the highway of “pleasures.”

It’s interesting that in verses 1-2 Solomon introduces this segment of his journal by telling us not only which highway he is traveling in his search for meaning, the highway to pleasure, but he tells us up front in a general conclusion what he discovered from his overall journey down pleasure’s highway. 

Then, in verses 3-9, Solomon gives us five different traffic lanes that he traveled on this highway of pleasure. These lanes are intended to encompass every imaginable pleasure known to the human race. As we change lanes from verse to verse, as we travel down this highway, he does not comment on what he learned from traveling in each lane. Instead, he waits till the whole journey is over and then he summarizes what he learned from traveling in each of these five lanes in verses 10-11.

Let’s get aboard the biblical bus and take a close look at this wise man’s exploration into the pleasures that this world has to offer and see what he gained from his travels down the highway of pleasure.

We begin with his opening verdict as to what this experiment with pleasure produces, in verses 1-2. Here we read “I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’” Notice, that Solomon never checks in with God to find out what is worthwhile in life. Neither does he go ask others who have lived longer than he has to learn some things from them that may save him a lot of time and pain. He didn’t even bother to reflect back on his own father’s life to see what brought profit to King David and what brought King David heartache. Solomon decided to do his own independent study of the different kinds of pleasure and the rewards they bring.

Solomon tells us up front, what his research produced, but that also proved to be meaningless. “‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?’”

The word for “laughter” refers to that which is superficially funny, like watching a sit-com on TV. It refers to the laughter that comes from a little child, deeply engrossed at play. Understand, he is not saying that there is anything wrong with laughter. In fact, in Proverbs, Solomon tells us that a joyful heart or a laughing heart is great medicine for the soul. So, Solomon and God for that matter are all in favor of good clean fun and humor. God loves laughter. He created that ability.

But let’s be honest about this kind of laughter. This kind of laughter brings with it no solid content. Later in Ecclesiastes 7:6, we are told that this kind of laughter is like the “crackling thorns under the pot.” In other words, like dried-out thorns that explode when you put them in the fire under a cooking pot, they produce little or no significant heat or energy. The same thing is true of this laughter. Laughter makes noise, but produces little of lasting substance.

Several years ago, for my birthday, Becky treated me to a live performance of Bill Cosby, probably my favorite comedian. We laughed ourselves silly. I remember that I was grateful for the intermission and even more grateful for when the program was over because my sides hurt so much from laughing that I needed the break. We both left the theater with smiles on our faces and enjoyed our drive home. But by the time we reached home and went to bed, there was the reality of emptiness. Although the entertainment was good clean fun, it did not satisfy my heart’s needs. As much as I enjoyed it, in a short period of time there was nothing really left over from that performance that endures. It’s for that reason that Solomon concludes that laughter as a form of pleasure leaves nothing meaningful that endures.

Solomon uses a second term for that which is fun, uplifting and leaves one with something more long lasting than just “laughter.” It’s what he calls “pleasure.” This word refers to those things involving deeper thought which produce some things good or temporarily worthwhile for their investment of time and energy.  Take, for instance, the pleasure one derives from doing volunteer charity work. Again, charity work is good and Solomon would not belittle that. But in the broader scope of life and eternity, what great lasting importance or significance does it produce? Ultimately, Solomon concludes that charity for charity’s sake, like all other pleasures, is meaningless.

With these two terms “laughter” and “pleasure” Solomon points to two extremes of pleasure: One that is brief and superficial, and the other which has a little more depth and thought behind it and has something productive to show for the investment of your time and energy. As he looks at the whole scope of pleasure as being the thing one might seek after in order to find lasting meaning in life, his conclusion is, “Don’t chase after pleasure in this life as your chief goal.” In these two verses, his verdict on pleasure as a way of finding meaning in life is, it is a waste of one’s life.

Now, at this point, you may want to argue with this wise man Solomon. But before we can, Solomon says, “Let me give you five examples of what I have personally discovered about the pleasures of life, that have left me with the conclusion that making pleasure your goal in life, with the hope that it will fulfill the need for meaning in your life, will end up proving futile and a waste of your time.” When we look at Solomon’s five different experiments with pleasure, you will see they cover every imaginable option that concerns pleasure, “under the sun.”

Look with me at verse 3, which refers to the pleasure one can experience at a palace gala. Solomon says, “I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-- my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.”  

As King, Solomon really knew how to throw a party at the palace. It was a gala-type event. You can read about such an event in 1 Kings 4:22-23. The one event recorded there was held on that day and has been estimated to have had enough food to feed 10-20 thousand people. I believe the expression “embracing folly” refers to much that would go on at such events by way of entertainment. He probably had the best stand-up comics, magic shows, dancing; and the most talented musicians of that day to bring his guests the most enjoyment, relaxation and pleasure possible. It was a huge event. Imagine, if you are trying to find out if upbeat social partying is the way to grasp meaning in life, Solomon did his best to throw the most extravagant parties possible by way of an experiment.

Secondly, it must be noted that Solomon is not speaking here of having a falling- down drunken party at the palace. This, for sure, was a dignified all-day event at the palace. Dr. Leupold, a Hebrew Scholar tells us that this expression, “My mind still guiding me with wisdom” clearly indicates that Solomon wasn’t drunk. He had his wits about him. His wisdom controlled his consumption of wine like a carefully controlled experiment. “Cheering myself with wine,” Leupold suggests is a reference to a consumption of wine which enables a person to sharpen their appetite for food and increase their enjoyment of a meal. [Leupold, p.60]

From this lane, Solomon now changes to another lane to travel down the highway of human pleasure. From having fun at a major social gathering, he now studies the pleasure one can derive from working hard and completing ambitious projects. Projects that may profit me and some that may simply profit the community at large. Look at verses 4-6. We read, “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.” Boy, he is not kidding. It took Solomon 13 years to finish his own home; then seven more years to finish the temple; and he built an additional home for his wife, the pharaoh’s daughter. He built the following cities: Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tadmore.

Solomon continues, “I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing (or timber producing) trees.” 

Archaeologists believe that they have found these reservoirs from which water was drawn to irrigate Solomon’s forests, gardens, parks and vineyards. They are aptly called, “the Pools of Solomon.” There were three of them that measure anywhere from 25-50 feet deep. They range in length from 380-582 feet long, and 207-250 feet wide. [That’s about the size of our church parking lot from driveway to driveway as it faces “M” St, straight back to “N” St, including the two houses we own, and about double the depth of the highest point of the inside of the auditorium]. That is one large water reservoir. Just one of those reservoirs can easily irrigate 1500 acres and still have enough water left over to raise some of the largest catfish you would ever want to be caught swimming with. Solomon had built three of such pools.

After investing quite a bit of time, money, energy and sweat in the various building projects, Solomon changes lanes on the highway to pleasure. Now he wants to experiment with the pleasure he could derive from building a successful business venture. In this case, it was a ranch that had many slaves to keep it going. In verse 7 he writes, “I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house.” If a husband and wife slave had a baby, that baby became the slave owner’s property as well. Hence, Solomon had an ever-growing work force to keep his business growing and going. He continues, “I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.” Solomon knew all about the joys of running a successful business.

Once more, in verse 8, we find Solomon quickly changing lanes on the highway to pleasure. This time, he wants to discover if there is anything soulishly satisfying in the sensual pleasures that one can experience at the playboy’s mansion.” Some may think that Hugh Hefner had the original playboy mansion. Not so. His mansion couldn’t have competed with Solomon’s maid’s quarters. Solomon’s palace, or “playboy mansion” had it all over Hefner’s. We read in verse 8, “I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.  I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-- the delights of the heart of man.”

When you entered Solomon’s home, his palace, you would have beheld some of the most elaborate artworks known to man at the time. They were treasures that he had collected and bought from kingdoms and provinces from all over the known world. Some of these treasured artworks were made of gold and silver. Some were made just to admire; others were made to be used, like dinnerware. If your sensual pleasure is something to view in the manner of artwork, Solomon had the best. In addition, if your sensual eyes liked to look at gold currency, Solomon’s private secret vault would have overwhelmed your eyes with its contents of gold bullion. 

He had servants, full time musicians to play as often as he wanted them to. His skilled musicians could have tickled your sensuous ears with any kind of music you asked them to play. Today, we would simply turn on the stereo. Solomon would have pointed to his live musicians and they would play. Few, if any other homes in that day, had that privilege of music on demand. 

In addition to these sensual delights, Solomon obviously had his huge harem of all shapes and sizes of women.

After experimenting with that travel lane of sensual pleasure, Solomon makes his final lane change, in verse 9. He now turns his attention to the pleasure derived from traveling down the road of prestige.  Solomon writes, “I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.”  In other words, he succeeded in deriving pleasure from using his head to get ahead. Yet, en route, Solomon never really got a “fat head.” Why do I say that? Because he tells us at the end of the verse, “In all this my wisdom stayed with me.” In other words, he remained objective. He didn’t become arrogant. He was a student of the whole situation, not letting the obvious trap of the pride of mankind to overcome him. Understand, Solomon was foolish for even taking this trip, but he was not arrogant as we determine someone to be arrogant.

Now we arrive at the end of the highway. Solomon looks back at his travels down the road of human pleasures. Listen to what he concludes: verse 10, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.” Understand, Solomon is saying that while he was traveling down this road of pleasure, there were pleasures enjoyed in each lane of the highway he traveled. But whatever momentary delight that he enjoyed on the way, that was it. That was his total reward for all of his efforts.

Then he levels us with this hammer in verse 11, “Yet when I surveyed [literally, this word means to face the hard facts the morning after the night before] all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained [profited me. Would last forever. It was all vapor] under the sun.” Solomon had traveled the entire length of the highway of pleasure, he took it as far as the road would go, further than anyone else on their own had ever traveled. No one has traveled further down this road than Solomon. And yet when he arrived at the end, his conclusion was “What an empty and futile trip!” It profited me ultimately nothing.

Solomon had enjoyed the most dignified spectacular events and parties ever attended, but the next day, his soul was still left empty. 

He had wowed the world with his building projects. They were fun to build and satisfaction came in the activity. But when the achievement was fulfilled, the pleasure faded away, leaving his soul empty. I remember experiencing that after I had worked so hard to buy my first car. It didn’t take long though, for that satisfaction, that joy to fade away after I had owned that car for a short time.

Solomon had experienced the highs of having created a successful, self-sustaining business venture. However, he learned that if you are trying to gain true meaning and enduring satisfaction from your work, “under the sun” or without God being involved in your work, your work and your wealth will turn hollow or meaningless in your soul.

Obviously, sensual pleasures only last for the moment and so does the applause of people. But the next morning...you have to face the same ol’ you with an empty soul. The pleasure was only for the moment.

So the big question is, what brings order and meaning to one’s life? If we can’t find lasting meaning in life chasing after happiness and/or personal pleasure, regardless of what lane we travel down, then where does meaning come from? In brief, it comes from experiencing Jesus Christ’s presence and partnership in all that we do and are. Jesus made it real clear. He said, “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly” over-flowingly, ongoing. Allow me to borrow an illustration from Dr. Bill Bright to demonstrate how Jesus brings meaning to one’s life.

Imagine three different circles that represent three different manners in which a person can live one’s life. Inside each of these circles there are these smaller but various-sized dots. These dots represent our various interests and activities that are constantly in motion in our lives. The bigger the dot, the greater the importance to the individual. For instance: To you, a dot may represent travel, marriage, children, parents, work, hobbies, sports, investments, talents, possessions, health concerns, etc. The greater the importance of these interests, the larger the dots.

Notice that in this first circle of a life, these dots are haphazardly spread throughout the life. There is no balance or order to them. They are just scattered all over, and sometimes, because they are in motion, they come into conflict with one another. There is discord in this life. The following are terms that describe the emotional norm of this kind of life: frustration, depression, ongoing explosive anger, bitterness, fear, anxiety, impatience, demanding your own way (either overtly or subtly), insensitivity, addictions with sex, drugs, alcohol, harsh or critical spirit, aimlessness, jealousy,

Why does this happen? In the center of each circle, each life there is this chair. This chair represents the seat of authority or the seat of control in this person’s life. The problem with Solomon in his search, and the problem with some of you here, is that the person, who is in charge of this life, running it all by himself or herself, is you, represented by the “S,” for “self” sitting on the chair. Because you think you are smarter than God and you know what’s best for you life “under the sun” you have ignored God, who is represented by a cross that is placed just outside the circle or this person’s life.

This person does not want Jesus, represented by this “cross,” to run his/her life. This person has pushed Jesus aside. This person has never entrusted the control of his/her life to Jesus as one’s personal Savior and Lord. Hence, Jesus remains outside of this life.

Compare this with a second circle or life, that also has a chair in the center with dots surrounding it. Look what happens to this person’s life when the life is submitted to the leadership of Jesus Christ as one’s personal master as well as Savior. As each dot is submitted to Jesus, Jesus brings order and balance to all of these interests in this person’s life as they submit each one to his control. This person still exists, he or she does not quit existing, they just submit their lives to Jesus and Jesus brings order to their lives. 

Regardless of their wealth, health or circumstances, their life for the most part, in comparison to this other life, is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. They enjoy reading God’s Word, because He teaches them from it. They enjoy corporate as well as private worship. They enjoy talking to others about what Jesus has done and is doing in their lives. They have a prayer life that sees answers. They are obedient to Jesus.  They sense purpose and meaningful direction to all that happens in their lives, even those undesired events.

Which one of these circles best describes your life? If this first circle best describes your life, you might be thinking, “Yes, that’s me, and I don’t like it. I wish I could have this second kind of life. Can it become mine?” The answer to that question is “Yes!” Simply tell Jesus, “I admit to you that I have been running my own life and even ignoring you. I have not even sought you out. But now I realize my mistakes and ask you to forgive me and to come into my life. Take control of my life as my rescuer, my Savior and my controller. Thank you.”

If you ask Jesus to do that, He promises to enter your life.

However, some of you have done that in the past, but your life, while it may have changed for a short period of time, now looks like the first circle. Why? This third circle explains why.

What has happened is that you have returned to your old ways. You have jumped back on the throne of your life and unseated Jesus. “S” is seated back on the chair and the cross, representing Jesus is not outside the circle or life, but it is no longer on the chair.  Jesus hasn’t left this person’s life, He is still there, but this person has chosen to ignore Christ’s leadership and put Him in the corner. As a result, now this person is more miserable than the person who never met Jesus. Why?  Because not only does this person have the same discord as the non-Christian, this person has these same qualities showing up in his life: frustration, depression, ongoing explosive anger, bitterness, fear, anxiety, impatience, demanding your own way (either overtly or subtly), insensitivity, addictions with sex, drugs, alcohol, harsh or critical spirit, aimlessness, jealousy.

But now added to this person’s life are these things: doubts about whether or not you are saved; no confidence as to what would happen to you if you died right this moment. Don’t know whether you will be with Jesus or not, because you know that real Christians don’t live like you do. Disobedient, loss of love for God and other believers, ineffective prayer life, no desire for Bible study, something that once was in your life, is now gone. No more joy.

You want to know how to get back to that joy-filled, purpose-directed life? Just go to Jesus and admit to Him what you have done. Ask Him to forgive you and to take over the throne of your life. Tell Him you will do whatever He asks. And in turn, your life will once again be filled with meaning and a positive sense of direction.

All of us will from time to time find ourselves wresting away from Jesus the right to run our lives. When we do, we must learn to keep short accounts with God. Ask Him to forgive you and give back to Him the right to run your life. Make sure daily, that Jesus is truly on the throne, and you will live not like Solomon, under the “sUn,” but you will live the better life, under the “sOn.”

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